- Most grant money goes to police overtime, not surveillance hardware.
- Officers have four missions and a one-hour clearance goal.
- City documents describe static takeover-site cameras, not only deployable units.
Street takeovers and sideshows are an issue across the U.S. Different cities handle them in dramatically different ways, and Portland is no different. It just approved a $207,411 state grant to combat the issue. When takeovers happen in the near future, local law enforcement will have more officers, more equipment, and more technology to shut them down. Police also have a deadline, now, to eliminate the takeover in less than an hour from the time of the call.
Breaking down the fine print gives us some insight into how authorities plan to spend the cash. According to the city’s grant documents, $147,403 is budgeted for personnel and another $25,790 for benefits. Equipment gets $34,219. In other words, about 84 percent of the grant is going toward people, while the remaining slice covers the technology meant to help identify participants and build cases afterward.
Read: South Carolina Street Takeover Ends With 80 Arrests And 38 Cars Impounded…